interview with dr. melissa caudle

Questions and Answers

#1 What inspired you on this book?

About eight years ago, I wrote a short film which was produced. I had no idea at the time that people would become fans, but they did. Before I knew it, people were begging me to write the screenplay. So, I did. I wrote The Keystroke Killer, pilot screenplay, with the expectations of getting it produced. I had a serious setback with my health and basically shelved the idea. Then, during my recovery, I just started writing and before I knew it, I had sixty-seven episodes written for television. Whoa! I got a bite on it, got funding, then disaster, my funder died of a heart attack. So, I was back at square one. Then, I was encouraged to turn the screenplays into a novel series. THE KEYSTROKE KILLER: TRANSCENDENCE PART I covers the first thirteen screenplays or if it were a series, Season 1.

The entire inspiration for the book came as a result of that short film.

#2 Why did you want to become a writer?

I think I’ve always been a writer since I learned how to print my name. I wrote my first book when I was in the seventh grade with my best friend. After that, I just kept writing. I love being able to travel and go places anywhere in the world my mind takes me. I am not bound to the here and now, rather I can time travel and go to outer space. That’s why I wanted to be a writer.

#3 What was the hardest part of creating this book?

The hardest part for me was two-fold: adapting from screenwriting and editing the final version. I had worked years on the character’s and the plots and had everything down in screenplay format. But, learning how to write like a novelist is like comparing apples to oranges. Although you can each both pieces of fruit, they are nothing alike. It took me awhile to get into learning how to write like a novelist, but I took classes and read just about everything I could.

It only took me two months to write KSK, but it took ten months of editing. Between the focus group and beta readers, from the line/copy editor, I did everything possible to make KSK the best. I think the time was well worth it.

#4 What do you hope people gain from reading it?

Entertainment value and a desire to want more. The novel itself is very dark, twisted and deep and it contains adult situations that portray what happens in today’s society. For example, the darkness of the scenes dealing with the serial killer are dark. I wanted it real. In order to do that, I interviewed four serial killers on death row and six survivors from serial killers. It was difficult to hear and listen, but it needed to be right. So, if people get anything out of this besides the entertainment value, I would hope it would be to step in and help if someone is getting kidnapped or if you suspect someone is involved in sex trafficking. Both of these subjects are hard to take; but are realities. I hope I can open someone’s eyes.

#5 When you were a kid, what were your favorite books?

As a kid, I loved to read Ray Bradbury and Orson Welles. THE TIME TRAVELOR and WAR OF THE WORLDS have to be my favorite.

#6 What is your advice to people who are not excited about reading?

To me, it goes back to why I wanted to be a writer in the first place. When you read, you’re not trapped in the here and now, or your hometown. You can experience the world from someone else’s perspective.

#7 Why should we buy your book?

This may sound weird for an author to say, but I wouldn’t say this book is for everyone. If you are faint of heart and have nightmares easily, don’t buy it. But, if you love psychological thrillers, mystery and crime or novels on serial killers, then this one is for you. I’ve been told by my beta readers that THE KEYSTROKE KILLER makes SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and FIFTY SHADES OF GREY look PG. With that said, it is for mature audiences only. It is not recommended for teens or below. I won’t even let my grandchildren read it until they are eighteen.

THE KEYSTROKE KILLER: TRANSCENDENCE PART I

For a limited time Dr. Mel is offering autographed copies for The Keystroke Killer.

PRESS RELEASES

Author, Dr. Melissa Caudle Debuts Novel on Halloween

A masterful original novel debut, set in New Orleans, LA in the year 2058 delving into the underbelly of political corruption through the eyes of a grief-stricken private detective after his sister was murdered by a serial killer.

The Keystroke Killer: Transcendence Part I

New Orleans, LA – October 25, 2018 - Dr. Melissa Caudle, Author, has completed her debut novel “The Keystroke Killer: Transcendence Part I”: a science fiction psychological thriller and will be made available on October 31, 2018 on Amazon.com and numerous other online retailers. Published by Open Door Publishing Company, this novel is a masterpiece of twisted deception as Matthew Raymond, a private detective is locked into a maze of deceit after the disturbing 2053 murder of his sister, Livia. Rage filled Matthew igniting a search for her killer and to find answers to the mysterious questions that lurked around her death. Matthew soon realizes his problems went from bad to worse as he discovers himself immersed in a city where the wealthy and corrupt politician’s rule and a serial killer on the loose with a weapon of mass destruction. Our hero plunges himself in a cunning game of cat-and mouse when he stumbles across the Keystroke Killer exposing a secret device that makes the serial killer capable of sending people to the fourth dimension without a trace.

Caudle wrote “The Keystroke Killer: Transcendence” first as a television pilot series with 67 episodes. After funding for the project fell through, Caudle didn’t give up. She spent the next several years developing the character driven plot and subplots. “I lived and breath with these characters,” Caudle said. “I know them very well. Some scare the daylights out of me. And, yes, there is more than one serial killer.” Her passion for science, science fiction and psychological thrillers leaps from the pages with every sound, every breath, every heartbeat and every death. “This novel isn’t for the faint of heart. It is dark and twisted,” Caudle said. “It makes Silence of the Lambs look PG.”

Dr. Melissa Caudle is an American author of more than a dozen books. She turned her love of writing screenplays to the love of writing novels. “The Keystroke Killer: Transcendence” is the first in the saga series with five more novels already plotted. This winter, Caudle will release two more novels, Never Stop Running and A.D.A.M. which are in the final editing stages. As an artist, she published six adult coloring books – “Abstract Faces” Volumes 1-6 that features some of her favorite drawings. Caudle describes her style somewhere between a Picasso and Salvador Dali.

If you want more information about Dr. Caudle or an interview, contact the author direct at 504-301-8000 or email her at drmelcaudle@gmail.com.